Leonardo Aurelius
Leonardo Aurelius (レオナルド オーリーリアス, Reonarudo Ōrīriasu) is the Head Reaper of the First Battalion of the King's Court as well as the Head of the Aurelius Family. As the Head Reaper of the First Battalion, Leonardo also takes the role as Commander of the entire King's Court. Leonardo is known by his moniker Rising God (上昇神, Jōshokami) for his unique spiritual energy as well as his rise from simple artisan to Commander of the King's Court. Personality A calm and well mannered man, Leonardo acts not only as the foundation and figure head of the King's Court but also as the "conscience" that sits on the shoulder of the Nobles House. Constantly striving to eradicate the unjust caste system that has plagued Chiaro, his pleas have gone without answering despite his status. As a former resident of the 72nd District of the Cross, Leonardo has seen how they lived and refuses to let others keep living as such. The only way he can make change, is to one day take the role of King. His ability to maintain a level-head in the most dire of situations, something that many of his associates respect him for. He believes that his status requires him to maintain calm and collected to make sure that his own people do not break out into panic. Leonardo himself has noted that when he remains calm, his own battalion does not break a sweat, something that he takes great pride in. As a former resident of the 72nd District, Leonardo's youth was wrought and warped with poverty and hardships, something that he looks back on as a small bump in the road. His ability to grow and to become stronger allowed him to push past the bounds that were placed by the rich. It was this key moment that got to Leonardo, looking at the world as a game of strategy from that point on. He commonly quotes phrases one would say during a game of strategy, homage to his views and style. Appearance Leonardo is a stoic and well built middle-aged man with messy blond colored hair and brown colored eyes, commonly covered with his signature black tinted glasses. He wears a modified version of the King's Court Shihakushō, consisting of a white long sleeved dress shirt with black dress pants. He wears a black vest over the white shirt and a large ruffled black tie. Over this, Leonardo wears a black coat that sits on his shoulders. Leonardo is commonly seen wearing a black bowl-shaped hat with a white stripe going around it. His sword is sealed as a rapier at his waist. History Born into the 72nd District of the Cross, Leonardo woke up in the Soul Society of Italy unsure of the world around him. Just as he lived in his poverty-stricken life in Italy, he would once again be forced to dwell in the darkest parts of society. He watched day after day as disease and anger warped the lives of those around him. He often found himself falling asleep to the wails of anguish and sadness, something that was sadly familiar to him. Waking up one day, like any other, he noticed something different. Waking up in a cold sweat, the feeling changed to a warm "bottled-up" feeling inside of him. He was unsure of what to do as medical care was no where in sight. He remained silent and still for days, the same warm sensation had enveloped his entire body. He finally gave in, punching the wall to his dingy home, he unknowingly released a large amount of "bottled-up" energy inside of him. The warm sensation quickly left but a new one emerged. He felt whole. Never before had he felt so at peace with himself. The energy he had expelled was not like most, gaining the attention of Reapers all the way in the 3rd and 4th District. A Reaper by the name of Michelangelo grew curious of the energy that appeared way out in the farthest corners of the District of the Cross and headed out to find the source. Michelangelo was shocked to find that the source of the energy was a young boy. Leonardo consoled to Michelangelo, who came off as a good-hearted man. After a long conversation, Leonardo begged to be taken out of the hell hole in which he lived. Michelangelo agreed with a chuckle. He took Leonardo and raised him, honing his tremendous spiritual energies into a fully functional weapon. His skills had gained the attention of the Noble House and Michelangelo's word was taken into account; quickly leading to Leonardo's admittance to the Soul Academy where he quickly graduated no more then a year later. Shortly before gaining his Reaper-status, Leonardo had to take his Final Exam, which included a Hollow extermination course. His squad set out beyond the barrier of Chiaro and had to kill the Hollows set up in the outer forest. The examination went smoothly until the squad came up against the Hollows directly. All but Leonardo were killed and the latter was shortly brought to his knees. Facing death, Leonardo on impulse called out and for the first time, met his Zanpakutō spirit. Appearing before Leonardo, the spirit called him "weak" and promised him the power to rise up and become stronger. Releasing his Zanpakutō for the first time, Leonardo killed his Hollow attackers and quickly succumbed to his wounds. Falling unconscious, he woke up a week later in a bed, with Michelangelo at his side. The only one of his squad to survive, Leonardo had reached the status of Reaper, but at what cost. Michelangelo praised Leonardo, but the latter felt empty inside, as if he could have saved the lives of his squad. Michelangelo scolded Leonardo for his thought, stating that "nature has a reason for everything." As a Reaper, Leonardo would bounce around for years from battalion to battalion. Finally, his name would reach candidacy for First Battalion Head Reaper. Gaining the position, Leonardo would take the role as one of the highest ranking Reapers in Chiaro. Abilities Zanpakutō Quotes Trivia